TEMPE – The No. 15 Sun Devil Hockey team dominated its inaugural appearance in the Ice Breaker Tournament with a 5-3 victory over Notre Dame on Friday night at Mullett Arena. 2025 New Jersey Devils draft pick Ben Kevan netted back-to-back goals, including the game-winner, while rookie netminder Samuel Urban made his first career appearance, complete with an assist.
With Friday night’s victory, ASU (1-2, 0-0 NCHC) advances to the Ice Breaker Tournament championship round against Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. MST. The showdown airs on FOX 10 locally and streams on NCHC.tv.
Kevan was supported in his lamp-lighting efforts by fellow freshman Carmelo Crandell, who also notched a two-point night with an assist on Kevan’s first goal.
Notre Dame (0-1, 0-0 Big Ten) didn’t make Urban’s debut a walk in the park; the Slovakia native made 36 saves before leaving the game due to cramping. Senior goaltender Connor Hasley entered early in the third period, backstopping ASU with 11 saves for a combined total of 47 saves between him and Hasley.
Game notables
- Sam Urban played lights-out in net for his first collegiate start, saving 36 of the 38 shots he faced, recording a 94.7 save percentage.
- Three skaters netted their first goals as Sun Devils: Noah Powell, Carmelo Crandell and Ben Kevan.
- Kevan also picked up his second career NCAA goal. Both goals came in the second period.
- Three Sun Devils had multi-point performances: Kevan (2G), Crandell (1G, 1A) and Kyle Smolen (1G, 1A).
- Urban was credited with a goalie assist for the Sun Devils, the first since TJ Semptimphelter versus Harvard on Jan. 5, 2024. Urban is the first Sun Devil goalie to have an assist in his collegiate debut.
- ND rallied 50 shots on net compared to ASU’s 38. The Sun Devils rank fourth in the country in shots on net with 123 through three games
- The addition of Sean McGurn and Logan Morrell as faceoff specialists is already paying dividends. The Sun Devils rank fifth in the country for team faceoff percentage with 57.4 percent. McGurn leads ASU with a 69.4 percent success rate (43-19), and Morrell boasts 63.3 percent (31-18).
- Cruz Lucius has now recorded 18 shots on goal through just three games. That marks the third most shots in the entire NCAA.
Period breakdown
First Period
The game opened with a stalemate for much of the period, as Notre Dame took two penalties in the first ten minutes, but Arizona State was unable to capitalize on the man advantage. At 12:22 into the period, the Fighting Irish took a five-minute major penalty, and the Sun Devils suffered a two-minute minor penalty.
After the 4-on-4 ended, ASU broke the scoreless streak with a power play goal from captain Kyle Smolen, his first of the season to put the team up 1-0. Less than two minutes later, ASU struck again as sophomore Noah Powell picked up his first goal as a Sun Devil, increasing the lead to 2-0 heading into the intermission.
Second Period
The Sun Devils came back from the break with a purpose. Freshman Carmelo Crandell buried his first career NCAA goal less than a minute into the second period, which widened the lead to 3-0. Notre Dame later punched back, scoring its first goal of the night to crawl back in at 3-1.
A Sun Devil mishap granted the Fighting Irish another man advantage, where Notre Dame could tack on another goal to make it 3-2.
The one-goal deficit was short-lived, as just a minute later, freshman Ben Kevan sniped home his first collegiate goal and brought ASU to a 4-2 lead. Crandell picked up an assist on Kevan’s goal, part of a two-point period for the freshman forward.
Goaltender Sam Urban later found his way onto the score sheet, as a quick outlet pass to Joel Kjellberg then made way to a Kevan breakaway where he lit the lamp for a second time in the frame to send Mullett Arena into a frenzy. The Sun Devils held firmly to a 5-2 lead heading into the third.
Third Period
Starting the third period, ASU killed off a minor penalty to keep Notre Dame out of reach. After a stellar debut, Urban was relieved in favor of senior Connor Hasley due to cramps. Hasley recorded 11 saves on 12 shots as the Fighting Irish were able to sneak one by Hasley’s glove to pull within two. With the score halted at 5-3, Notre Dame continued to hunt for another goal. The Sun Devil defense strung together a slew of big plays to stymie any comeback attempt from Notre Dame, as ASU then put the final touches on its first win of the season.
Quotables
Head Coach Greg Powers
Opening Statement
“A nice win. We have much to learn, but it's always good to learn when you win. We had some great skill plays tonight and did a lot of really good things, but our guys have got to learn to close out games the right way or we're going to blow more leads. We dodged a bullet there. Notre Dame turned it on there in the last eight minutes but, overall more good than bad, and we're thrilled to get the win.”
On what he’s seen from the young guys stepping up:
“They’re really talented kids. I thought (Cullen) Potter was easily our best player overall tonight. He didn’t score, but he did so many things off the puck and drove the play, and he was at the net on Ben’s (Kevan) first goal.
(Carmelo) Crandell made some unbelievable plays and used his speed well. Kevan’s going to get more and more as we go here. So, it’s a really talented line. We’ve got a first and second rounder on it, and they were dangerous tonight and showed it.”
On the goaltending and Samuel Urban’s first career win:
“He was great. Urbs (Samuel Urban) was awesome. It sucked that he cramped up on us. He tried to get through it and he actually made some big saves while he was cramping up. So, just a really gutsy effort out of our goaltending tonight that got us a win. It's always good to see two guys be a part of it in our first win.”
Forward Ben Kevan
On getting the first win of the season
“It was amazing. We had two tough losses, two games that we felt were in reach, but finally closing out one this week has been really fun, and hopefully we win a trophy tomorrow.”
On picking up his first two collegiate goals
“For the first goal, with Alfie’s (Sam Alfano) change, it kind of mixed up their team a little bit, and then I was able to find a soft area, and Court is such a good playmaker that he was able to find me there. The change that Alfie had was a really good change. I think it just kind of mixed them up. The second goal, just getting in there and having as much speed as I did, I was trying to make a fake and get it moving a little bit, and then I was fortunate enough for it to hit his glove and go right up into the net, so I was just trying to mix him up quickly with a quick move.”
Goalie Samuel Urban
On playing in his first collegiate game
“It was a big game. I felt great in the net and the guys helped me a lot. They blocked so many shots and cleaned the screener guys. So I think it was a pretty good game for my first college game.”
On learning from veteran goalie Connor Hasley
“It’s pretty good to have an older goalie here with me, and he’s played three years in college, so I’m trying to take a lesson every single day in the practices and in the games. Our routines have different styles, cause he's a righty and I’m a lefty. But I learn a lot, especially in a game, so I’m trying to learn every single day.”